The bell's echo rolled across the fields, sharp and frantic. It cut through the dawn silence like steel tearing cloth, and with it came chaos. Doors slammed open. Farmers dropped tools. Children were pulled back inside by trembling hands.
"North gate! All hunters to the north gate!" someone bellowed, voice already strained with urgency.
The village of Blackwood had seen beast attacks before. Rank 1s, even the occasional Rank 2 or Rank 3, but never anything like this. The air itself pressed heavy, as if weighted by invisible chains. The wolves hadn't even attacked yet, but their presence was suffocating.
---
Aiden reached the north gate faster than most. His legs carried him with unnatural speed, the training of months etched into his muscles. The wooden barricade stood tall and firm, reinforced with spears and sharpened logs, but even from a distance he knew—it wouldn't be enough.
Beyond the line of stakes, the wolves waited.
Dozens of them.
Their eyes glowed a cold, unnatural blue, fangs dripping with saliva that steamed against the frosted morning air. Their bodies were larger than oxen, their fur dark as smoke. At least twenty prowled, circling with eerie coordination.
But it wasn't their numbers alone that made Aiden's chest tighten.
Each wolf carried an aura that pressed against him. Rank 3. Rank 4. Two of them—larger, their shoulders bulging with muscle and bone spikes—emitted the suffocating pressure of Rank 5.
Hunters muttered nervously, some clutching their weapons tighter, others whispering prayers.
"This isn't natural…" said old Borin, a veteran of countless hunts, his scarred hand shaking against his spear. "Wolves don't gather like this. And they don't attack villages."
Miriam, already armored and standing near the gate captain, spoke coldly. "Something's driving them. Look at their eyes."
---
Aiden's gaze lingered on those glowing orbs.
It wasn't hunger. It wasn't desperation.
It was compulsion.
Something stronger lurked deeper in the forest, forcing them outward.
His chest pulsed—once, twice—like a heartbeat not his own. The seal. The dragon heart. It reacted to the presence of power.
Aiden pressed a hand against his chest, forcing the thrum down, forcing his breathing steady. Not now. If I unleash it here…
The council would see. The hunters would fear him more than the wolves.
---
The captain raised his arm. "Archers, ready!"
A line of a dozen men and women drew bows. Their hands trembled, but they steadied, leveling arrows at the prowling beasts. The hunters behind them braced spears, forming ranks just inside the barricade.
Aiden took his place among them, wooden practice sword still strapped to his side. He hadn't been given a steel blade—the council still didn't trust him with one.
He smirked bitterly at the irony. Facing Rank 5 beasts, and they're afraid I'll cut down humans.
Still, his hands itched for combat.
The hunger whispered.
---
The first howl came from the treeline.
Long, deep, vibrating through the air like thunder rolling from a distant storm. The wolves froze, ears perked. Then, as one, they lowered into crouches, muscles bunching like springs.
"Loose!" the captain roared.
Arrows whistled into the morning air, cutting down three wolves instantly. Two more staggered, shafts piercing their hides but not deep enough to kill.
The forest erupted in sound.
Dozens of throats howled in unison, so loud the wooden barricade shook. And then the wolves charged.
---
The ground quaked beneath their paws.
Rank 3 wolves leapt first, throwing themselves against the sharpened logs. Their bodies thudded hard, spears piercing flesh, yet they did not fall. They clawed at the wood, fangs gnashing.
Rank 4 wolves came next, faster and heavier, their claws shredding at the barricade like it was nothing more than branches. Hunters shouted, driving spears down from above, arrows flying from behind. Blood sprayed. Screams mixed with growls.
And then the Rank 5 wolves moved.
Two enormous beasts, each twice the size of a horse, pushed through their pack like kings among soldiers. Their howls silenced even their kin. One slammed against the barricade, splintering wood. The other bit clean through a sharpened log, shaking it free like a toy.
The hunters' formation wavered.
"They'll break through!" someone screamed.
---
Aiden's body moved before his mind decided.
He leapt forward, pushing through the hunters at the front, landing just behind the barricade as a wolf's massive paw slammed down. The impact shook the wood, but Aiden didn't flinch.
He grabbed the wooden practice sword, his only weapon, and drew it free.
Gasps erupted from the hunters. "Is he insane?!"
The Rank 5 wolf lunged, its jaws gaping wide enough to snap him in half.
Aiden exhaled. Time slowed. The seal in his chest thrummed again, whispering, promising power. He drew from it—not fully, just enough to sharpen the edges of his body.
Muscles coiled. Reflexes blazed.
The world slowed to a heartbeat.
The wolf's maw closed.
And Aiden moved.
---
His foot slammed against the wood of the barricade, launching himself upward. The jaws snapped shut below his feet. In midair, he twisted, gripping the wooden sword like steel, and brought it crashing down across the wolf's snout.
Crack!
The beast howled, reeling back as blood sprayed from its broken nose.
Gasps rose from the hunters. The wooden blade had shattered with the impact—but the force was enough to stagger a Rank 5 beast.
Aiden landed in a crouch, shards of wood in hand, his chest rising with calm, steady breaths.
The wolf shook its head, growling murderously, its glowing blue eyes locked on him.
And Aiden… smiled.
---
Behind the wolf, the second Rank 5 beast stepped forward, joining its kin.
Two predators, both radiating killing intent. The hunters shrank back, terror on their faces.
Aiden stood alone, broken weapon in hand, crimson flickers burning faintly in his eyes.
For the first time, he didn't feel the urge to suppress it.
For the first time, he wanted to let the hunger speak.
---